First and foremost- Contact your medical professional to make sure you are healthy enough for an elimination diet. Anything posted here is for support. Only you and your doctor can decide what is best for you and your heath. Partake at your own risk.

I want everyone to be included that desires so. If you have concerns, please tailor the elimination diet! My recommendations are as following:

-If you cannot do total grain elimination I suggest that you try to do ONLY whole grain gluten free options. Even though it takes a while for gluten to be completely rid from your digestive system, there is scientific evidence that just in 30 days there are autoimmune and gut bacteria benefits: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3023594/

Gluten free cheat sheets/info:

Click to access gluten_free_diet.pdf

-If you cannot do legume eliminations I suggest that you only eat legumes that have been soaked overnight and eliminate any canned or pre-made beans. For more info read: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0023643802002177

Gather Info

Understand the diet and exclusions you wish to make.

Gather recipes

Decide your plan and where you draw your line- figure out what oils you will use, what is included or excluded from your plan. One such example: citric acid (in apple sauce and other foods for color retention and preservative)

Start preparing

Make freezer meals:  Homemade preservative free apple sauce, basil cubes, broths.

Test new foods you may have never had: yams vs. sweet potato, plantains, jacama, pumpkin seeds (pepitas), butternut squash, kale, collard greens, turnips, chia seed, fennel. Knowing what you like will help choose meals later!

Clean out your fridge and cupboard: Wipe the fridge clean, and discard expired food. You will need more room in the fridge than you think! Read labels and meal plan to eat anything that will perish before your diet starts.

 Tips

My #1 tip: Before going grocery shopping make sure you have a clean sink. when you get home don’t even think about putting those veggies and fruit away in the fridge. Soak them right away in the sink with cold water and a cup of white vinegar for 10 minutes, rinse, and prep the veggies! This assures you have ready to eat food at all times and when you go to use them in recipes one step has already been complete- making cooking prep faster!

Tip 2: When you make meals, if it is freezable, set aside ONE (or two) portions for the freezer for later emergency times. I use mason jars, just don’t put the lid/band on them until after they have frozen and give them ample head space.

Tip 3: Decide on a “sanity” snack- which isn’t really going to be cheating from the diet, but is a favorite thing you set aside for when you are about to break!

Make a To-Get list (optional):

-water fruit infuser container

-nut bag (for making nut milk that does not contain gums)

-“zoodle” cutter (spiraler)

-grilling needs  (charcoal, propane)

Things to Expect

You will most likely spend more money on food than normal

You might experience withdrawal symptoms from detox (feel worse before feeling absolutely amazing)

Good things to know

Example of foods and how long they take to get out of your system

Dairy: 2 weeks

Gluten:  3-6  months (depending on personal gut healing time if damage was made to colon

Possible food reactions usually start 1-3 days after consumption.